News Archive: June 6, 2007 Archives

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June 6, 2007
Italia Federici to plead guilty in Abramoff probe
An associate of former Interior Secretary Gale Norton was charged on Wednesday with tax evasion and obstructing the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Italia Federici, the president of a Republican environmental group that was founded by Norton, has agreed to plead...

Life sentences for reservation meth dealers
Two people were sentenced to life in prison for selling methamphetamine and marijuana on and near the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Claudia Hermosillo, 26, and Santiago Gonzalez-Cisneros, 26, were the ringleaders of an organization that brought large quantities of...

Letter: Native Americans are veterans too
"The Viroqua Area Veteran's Memorial has certainly been a great addition to Viroqua. America's veterans should always be remembered, honored and respected. With this in mind, I have two comments regarding the Viroqua Area Veterans Memorial (VAVM) and other veteran's...

Opinion: Indian women were baby factories
"The ancestors of the Indians in Illinois first arrived here thousands of years ago from Northeastern Asia. They came across a land bridge that existed at what is now called the Bering Strait. They had coarse black hair, beardless faces,...

House vote expected on Lumbee recognition bill
The U.S. House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill to recognize the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, The Fayetteville Observer reports. The Lumbees were identified as "Indians" by a termination-era law but denied the benefits associated with federal...

Elders and youth meet for conference in Fairbanks
More than 100 elders and youth from 42 villages in interior Alaska are meeting in Fairbanks for the annual Denakkanaaga conference. Denakkanaaga, which means "the language" in Athabascan, has been holding the conference since 1988. This year's theme is "Elders'...

San Luis Rey Band expects thousands at powwow
The San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians of California holds its 11th annual powwow this weekend. The tribe expects thousands to attend the event in Oceanside. "It's a way to tell people the San Luis Rey Indians are still...

Muckleshoot Tribe in talks with NBA team owner
The Muckleshoot Tribe is "intrigued" about the idea of keeping the Seattle Supersonics in Washington, a spokesperson said. The tribe owns 118 acres in Auburn where a potential basketball arena for the team could be located. The land is not...

DOJ official denies blocking Native voting rights probe
A top Department of Justice aide on Tuesday denied quashing an investigation into Native voting rights but couldn't explain why federal officials did nothing about the issue. Bradley J. Schlozman, who has held five titles at the department, disputed a...

Supreme Court won't rehear Indian Impact Aid case
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request to rehear an Indian Impact Aid case from New Mexico. Two school districts sued the Department of Education over the way it calculates Impact Ad. The schools said they were being shortchanged...

Judge dismisses New York land-into-trust lawsuit
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to bar the Interior Department from taking land into trust for tribes in New York. U.S. District Judge David Hurd said the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance and the Central New York...

Navajo Nation investigates alleged loan misuse
Navajo Nation officials are investigating a $2.2 million loan the tribe extended to a company doing business on the reservation. BCDS Manufacturing Inc., a metal fabricator and military contractor, received the money last year. CEO Hak Ghun said the money...

Owner of bar near Bear Butte faces unpaid bills
The owner of a bar near sacred Bear Butte in South Dakota faces the loss of his liquor license for thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. Jay Allen won the license despite opposition from tribal activists, local ranchers and religious...

Ho-Chunk Nation reclaims mounds from state
The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin reclaimed a part of its history on Monday. The tribe received the Kingsley Bend Wayside Effigy Mounds from the state Department of Transportation. The site dates back to AD 600. The tribe has been cleaning...

Crow Tribe to shut down dialysis center
The Crow Tribe of Montana is shutting down its dialysis center at the end of the week. The Apsaalooke Dialysis Center in Crow Agency has been on the reservation for 11 years. But due to staffing shortages and facility maintenance...

St. Regis Mohawk police certified by state
Police officers for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe can now enforce New York state law on the reservation. The tribe's officers received state certification last week. The tribe is the first to do so under a 2005 state law. Chief...

Mashantucket Tribe breaks ground on water project
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut broke ground on a water project that will serve the reservation and two nearby towns. The $700,000 water main extension will provide water to new tribal developments. It will also serve non-tribal customers...

House panel probes Abramoff ties to White House
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is expanding its probe of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his ties to the White House. The committee is seeking testimony from former and current lobbyists and Bush administration officials. One person of...

Yellow Bird: Graduates inspire with their lives
"I saw a group graduation picture and recognized a young woman whom I had met several years ago, I told my sister. The young woman had struggled for most of her life because she had a mental disability. On...

Letter: A new leader for the Cherokee Nation
"It seems the more funds our Cherokee tribal casinos collect, the less services the Cherokee people receive. The general public believes the Cherokee people receive free housing, medicine and education. Notice to the public: The Chad Smith administration, in cooperation...

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